The president of United States, Joe Bidenwill meet during his trip to Poland with NATO eastern flank leaders to analyze the course of the war in Ukraine one year after the Russian invasion.
The US president will hold a meeting next Wednesday with leaders of the group called the Bucharest Nine, made up of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. “These are the NATO allies who are literally on the front line of our collective defense,” said White House Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Most are among the staunchest supporters of military aid to Ukraine, and officials from the group’s countries have called for additional resources, such as air defense systems.
Before the group, Biden will reaffirm before the rulers of these countries “the unwavering support” of the United States for the defense of the Atlantic Alliancewhich he considers “more united than ever” since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Russia views NATO, which could soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat.
The message to Biden from Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda will be that he wants “greater involvement of the United States in Europe, on the eastern flank of NATO and, of course, more help for Ukraine,” his secretary told Lithuanian radio on Tuesday. Chief Foreign Policy Adviser.
“Lithuania and other like-minded countries have several requests, which concern air defense, advanced defense presence, air defense systems, and increased investment in the defense industry.Asta Skaisgiryte said.
Later this week, Washington will announce additional sanctions against individuals and companies that “attempt to circumvent sanctions and refuel the Russian war machine,” according to a White House spokesperson.
A year ago, Biden warned his skeptical allies that the massive buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders was a harbinger of war. At the time, even some members of his own government questioned Ukraine’s ability to resist an invasion. However, Ukrainian forces held out in kyiv and drove Russia out of some of the territory it had seized in the first weeks of the war, with the help of Western weapons, ammunition and equipment.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, The US has allocated 29.3 billion dollars in military aid to kyiv, which makes it the largest donor of military assistance since the beginning of the war. While Biden was in Kiev on Monday, the State Department announced more aid for Ukraine: $450 million for artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems and air defense radars and $10 million for energy infrastructure.
However, Biden has not approved the Ukrainian request for fighter jets. US analysts say the war may drag on for many months or even years.
(With information from EFE and Reuters)
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Source-www.infobae.com